(1)
Section 245(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act will be available
temporarily to people physically present in the
United States
on the date of enactment, December 21, 2000. The provision will allow a
person who qualifies for permanent residency, but is ineligible to
adjust status in the United States
because of an immigration status violation, to pay a $1,000 penalty to
continue processing in the
United States. In order to be eligible for 245(i) adjustment under the LIFE Act, a
person must be the beneficiary of an immigrant petition or application
for labor certification filed on or before April 30, 2001. This is not
amnesty for all persons unlawfully in the United States. This provision
only applies to certain persons residing in the
United States
who, although otherwise eligible for an immigrant visa, are barred from
adjusting their status in the
United States. It allows such persons to adjust their status in the
United States
instead of acquiring their visa abroad.

(2) A new
temporary "V" non-immigrant status will be available to the
spouses and minor children of lawful permanent residents waiting more
than three years for an immigrant visa based upon an immigrant petition
filed on or before the enactment date of the LIFE Act. Persons granted
"V" status would receive employment authorization and are
protected from removal.

(3) A new
temporary "K" visa status will be available to spouses of
U.S. citizens (and their children) living abroad. The current K visa is only
available to fiancées of
U.S.
citizens who are coming to the
United States
to get married within 90 days of arrival.

(4) Persons
who filed before October 1, 2000, for class membership in one of three
"late amnesty" lawsuits (CSS v. Meese, LULAC v. INS, and
Zambrano v. INS) and who are eligible under the LIFE Act's amended
legalization provisions may apply to adjust status during a 12-month
period that begins once regulations are issued. Spouses and unmarried
children of the class action claimants will be protected from certain
categories of removal and will be eligible for work authorization if
they entered the
United States
before December 1, 1988 and resided in the
United States
on that date. Back to Top

245i
One of the provisions of the LIFE Act is the temporary reinstatement of
Section 245(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Section
245(i). It is not an amnesty. To preserve eligibility to file for
adjustment of status under Section 245(i), an individual must be the
beneficiary of an immigrant visa petition (Form I-130 or Form I-140), or
an application for labor certification filed by April 30, 2001. If the
petition or application was filed after January 14, 1998, the
beneficiary must be able to demonstrate physical presence in the
United States
on December 21, 2000.

An application
for adjustment of status (Form I-485) based on Section 245(i) does not
need to be filed before April 30, 2001. The application can be filed
when an immigrant petition is approved and a visa number is available
for the beneficiary in the appropriate preference category in accordance
with the State Department’s monthly Visa Bulletin. The applicant must
also pay the application fee and a $1,000 penalty fee. Back
to Top

K Visas for relatives of U.S.
Citizens

To reduce the
separations immediate family members of U.S.
citizens may experience while waiting abroad for an immigrant visa, the
Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) is implementing a new K
nonimmigrant visa provision, which was published as an interim rule in
today’s Federal Register.

The rule expands
the K visa status, currently available to fiancé(e)s of
U.S.
citizens, to include the spouse of a
U.S. citizen, who is waiting abroad for an immigrant visa, and the spouse’s
children. This will allow them to enter the United States
as nonimmigrants, re-unite with their family here, and then apply for
immigrant status while in the country. It is one of several
immigration benefit provisions created by the Legal Immigration Family
Equity Act (LIFE Act) enacted last December.

Under this new
nonimmigrant visa classification, spouses of
U.S. citizens may be granted K-3 nonimmigrant status, and the spouse’s
unmarried children (under 21 years of age) may be granted K-4
nonimmigrant status. Obtaining a K-3/4 visa is not required,
however. Spouses of U.S.
citizens and their children may skip applying for a K visa and directly
obtain their immigrant visa abroad from the Department of State.

For those who
wish to take advantage of this new provision, to be eligible for a K-3
nonimmigrant visa, an applicant MUST:

Be
the spouse of a U.S.
citizen;

Have
a Form I-130 (Petition for Alien Relative) filed on his/her behalf
by his/her
U.S.
citizen spouse, that is pending;

Have
a Form I-129F (Petition for Alien Fiancé(e)) completed and
submitted on his/her behalf by his/her
U.S.
citizen spouse to:

(Note: The INS
must approve the Form I-129F before the beneficiary becomes eligible to
apply for the K Visa from the U.S. consulate abroad.); and

Submit
a completed Form I-693 (Medical Examination) when he/she appears at
the consulate to apply for the K-3 visa from the Department of
State.

To be eligible
for a K-4 nonimmigrant visa, an applicant does not need a separate Form
I-130 or a Form I-129F filed on his/her behalf. The K-4 applicant
MUST:

Be
an unmarried child (under 21 years of age) of a K-3 visa applicant
or holder;

Submit
a completed Form I-693 (Medical Examination) when he/she appears at
the consulate to apply for the K-4 visa.

The K-3/4
nonimmigrant classification does not provide immigrant status. To
obtain immigrant status --once in the
United States
-- a K-3 nonimmigrant must file a Form I-485 (Application for Adjustment
to Permanent Residence). A K-4 nonimmigrant must have a Form I-130
filed on his/her behalf by his/her U.S. citizen parent/stepparent and
must file a Form I-485. K-3/4 nonimmigrants will become lawful
permanent residents and receive their Green Card when both the Form
I-130 petition and their Form I-485 application have been approved.

K-3/4
non-immigrants may elect to apply for an immigrant visa instead of
adjustment of status and may wait in the
United States
until they must appear at the consulate for their visa interview.

K-3/4
nonimmigrants may also apply for authorization to work in the
United States
while they wait for their immigrant status. To do so, they must
submit a completed Form I-765 (Application for Employment Authorization)
along with the $100 application fee to the INS post office box (P.O.
Box) address specified above for filing the Form I-129F.
Back to Top

V
Visa for spouse/child of U.S. Permanent Resident

The
V Visa allows the spouse or child of a U.S. Lawful Permanent Resident to
live and work in the United States
in a nonimmigrant category. The spouse or child can remain in the
United States
while they wait until they are able to apply for lawful permanent
residence status or for an immigrant visa, instead of having to wait
outside the
United States
as the law previously required.

A person may apply at a U.S. consulate abroad for a V-1 or
V-2 visa or seek V-1 or V-2 nonimmigrant status while in the United
States, if that person:

is lawfully married to a Lawful Permanent Resident of
the United States (V-1), or is the unmarried child (under the age of
21) of a Lawful Permanent Resident (V-2); and

is the principal beneficiary of a relative petition
(Form I-130) that was filed by the Lawful Permanent Resident
spouse/parent on or before December 21, 2000; and

has been waiting at least 3 years since the petition was
filed for status as a Lawful Permanent Resident because the petition
is still pending, or has been approved but:

an immigrant visa is not yet available; or,

there is a pending application to adjust
status or application for an immigrant visa.

The
derivative child of a V-1 or V-2 nonimmigrant is eligible for a V-3 visa
or for V-3 status.

If
inside the United States, you must file the Form I-539, Application to Change Nonimmigrant
Status, and Supplement A, and pay the application fee, or request a
waiver of the application fee. All aliens 14 to 79 years of age who are
filing Form I-539 to obtain V nonimmigrant status must submit a service
fee of $70 for fingerprinting with their application. In addition to the
instructions listed on the Form I-539, all aliens applying for V
nonimmigrant status must follow the supplemental instructions found on
Supplement A to Form I-539. Applicants must also undergo a medical
examination and submit Form I-693, Medical Examination of Aliens Seeking
Adjustment of Status, without the vaccination supplement.

Persons
in V-1, V-2, or V-3 status are eligible to apply for a work permit. You
should use form I-765 to apply for a work permit. Applicants should use
the code “(a)(15)” as the answer to question 16 on Form I-765. You
must send the appropriate fee for this form along with the application.

If you obtain a V nonimmigrant visa from a consular office abroad, you
may be inspected and admitted to the United States
in V nonimmigrant status after traveling abroad as long as you continue
to possess a valid, unexpired V visa and remain eligible for V
nonimmigrant status.

When
you are granted V nonimmigrant status in the United States
by the INS, you will need to obtain a V visa from a consular office
abroad in order to be inspected and admitted to the
United States
as a V nonimmigrant after traveling abroad. (You will not need to apply
for a V visa abroad in order to be admitted if you have traveled to
contiguous territories or adjacent islands, have another (different
category) valid visa, and are eligible for automatic revalidation.) A
V nonimmigrant with a pending Form I-485, Application to Register
Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, does not need to obtain advance
parole prior to traveling abroad. This means that an alien in V
nonimmigrant status may be readmitted as a nonimmigrant despite the fact
that he or she is an intending immigrant with a filed application for
adjustment of status or an immigrant visa. The departure of a V
nonimmigrants with a, pending applications for adjustment of status is
not considered to have abandoned the adjustment application upon
departure.

Important
Note: If you have accrued more than 180 days of unlawful presence in the
United States
(or 365 days), then travel abroad and are admitted or readmitted as a V
nonimmigrant, you have triggered a 3- or 10-year bar to admission. The
law exempts V nonimmigrants from the 3- (or 10-) year bar for purposes
of admission to the United States
as a V nonimmigrant but does not exempt them from the bar when they
later apply for an immigrant visa or for adjustment to LPR status. That
means that although you will be admitted or readmitted to the
United States
in V status, you may be unable to adjust status to LPR unless an
individual waiver for that ground of inadmissibility is granted.